The Life of the Metallic God Part Two
by Michelle the Maverick Sandwich
Summary: Forte is welcomed into the Base with open arms, but also fear. Since befriending Dynamo, Zero, and X, the base has become a whole lot nicer. Well, that all changes when Sigma drops in for a visit...


Part II.

Chapter 1

Forte awoke to a heavy clanging above his head. He opened his red eyes and looked up to see X's bright face staring at him intently. Forte pushed the blue warrior off of him and onto the hard, metallic floor and sat upright, "Mmm… what?" he groggily inquired, rubbing his once-broken eye. "You were supposed to be up an hour ago. I came to wake you." he replied. "Shit. What'd I miss?" X was frustrated. "You only missed… let's see… the entire Hunter's meeting! Signas was wondering where you were." Forte rolled over to face the wall, and tried to sleep again. X didn't leave. "C'mon, Bass. Get up. Signas needs to speak with you." Forte just pulled the sheet over his head, a futile attempt to avoid reality. "Forte is tired. Forte wants to sleep." he said. X sighed, knowing he was getting nowhere, and walked out of Forte's room. Forte smiled and closed his eyes again.

Halfway through an exceptionally pleasant dream, the dozing god heard a knocking on his door. "What." he mumbled. The person didn't seem to hear, and proceeded to open the door. Dynamo ducked through the doorway and sat on the empty, but organized, cot opposite Forte, hands resting on his knees. He sighed and then smiled. "X said you wouldn't get up…" he said in a voice that had a playful string attached. "…so he asked me to intervene. There are a few ways I could get you up, but I'll go with the simplest." Forte just lay there like a slug, stubborn and determined to sleep. Dynamo cracked his artificial knuckles and stepped over to Forte. He grabbed the sheets and wrapped them tightly around the lazy god.

Zero, who was walking down that hallway at the time, saw Dynamo at the far end of the hall, dragging a squirming bundle. When they met, Zero glanced down the writhing load and raised an eyebrow. "Just takin' out the garbage." Dynamo said in a playful, "there's-nothing-weird-about-what-I'm-doing" voice. Zero smiled and nodded, understanding what had must have occurred, and continued walking like there was nothing strange about the bag. X stepped into the briefing hall to see Signas and Alia at the main computer. "Any word on the Mavericks?" he asked. Alia shook her head. Then Dynamo entered, his load still struggling. At once, they heard a familiar 'shing' and two red blades emerged from the makeshift bag, sending shreds of fabric on the floor. Forte jumped out, put his swords back, and fixed his hair like there was nothing wrong. Signas and Alia just stared at him; they still didn't know Forte too well. "So… was I late for something?" he asked innocently, and brushed little pieces of cloth off of his armor. "Umm… you know what? Never mind. You are dismissed." said Signas, still not knowing what had gone on. Forte glared at Dynamo, who returned the look with a 'haha-you-got-in-trouble' face. The two left hastily and made a beeline for the training room. They always settled their arguments that way; the winner is right, and the loser needs to pay. X wondered what kind of world he came from for him to not settle things with words. Was his past really that bad?

Zero, after reporting to Signas, entered the training room to see Forte upside-down in the air with Dynamo supporting him by his feet. "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked. "No." they both answered, and the tall Reploid dropped Forte onto the floor. The god looked forward and saw the patched hole that Zero made when he threw him into it, and Zero's burn marks. Forte didn't move as he vaguely remembered his time in Death. He shuddered at the memory. He got to his feet and half-heartedly asked Zero what was up. "Well we've gotten no word of Sigma or his base. They want to send out teams to go and search for it. Surprisingly, there've been no attacks on any cities for some time now. Maybe Sigma realized his insanity?" Dynamo laughed, but Forte didn't. He was lost within his own thoughts. Dynamo bent down to Bass' eye level and asked him if everything was alright. "Wha…? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I guess I'm just tired. If only I could have slept a little longer…" Now he was glaring at Dynamo, a dark smile creeping up his face. "No. You did _not_ just go there." said Dynamo, quickly. Forte's blades appeared and he jumped onto the hulking Reploid, knocking him onto the ground. Zero sighed, and he left the friends to their "playing." He remembered that X was to take his squadron out on a training mission today, and he wanted to see him off.

Chapter 2

Doppler and X were standing in the bay with a giant, rose-colored mecha. X sat sidesaddle on one arm, while Doppler ran some diagnostics with a computer. X noticed Zero standing there, and called out, "Oh, hey, Zero! Check out what I made. I call it the Gad." Zero walked over, gazing upon the giant mech like he was looking at a new toy. "Cool. What can it do?" Zero asked. X smiled, proud of his invention. "Well, it can do just about anything you or I can do, only much stronger. It's being a bit laggy now, though." Zero caressed his chin in thought. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Zero asked. X hopped down, his wavy brown hair fluttering in the sudden wind. "Well… you can try it out and see what you think of it! I made it for you, Zero." Zero smiled warmly at the gift. "That's awfully kind of you, old friend…" the crimson bot said, a tear forming in his eye. He jumped up onto the shoulder and climbed inside. "Is this like the other Mechs?" he asked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "Yup! Er, it should be." replied the gloating Reploid, feigning an itch. A drop of sweat rolled down Zero's face, showing the telltale sign of anxiety.

Zero, once properly fastened in, felt the controls and recalled data of the previous Mechs he had controlled. He pushed one lever and the machine lurched forward an inch. "Don't be frightened, Zero! The safety button is to your left, right by the emergency brake." yelled Doppler from below. Zero relaxed a bit, this new knowledge consoling his fears. He started walking in it, and with each step Zero's confidence in the machine rose. "Ooh! Can I try out the weapons? Can I? Can I?" Zero's hyper voice said. "Aim AWAY from the base!!" X and Doppler both yelled very cautiously. Zero and his mech started running towards the open hangar door and raised its heavily-armed hand. At once a giant missile unleashed itself from its resting place and accelerated to near sound-breaking speed. It collided with a titanium barrier wall a full mile away and tore a huge hole in it, and then a huge explosion blew the remaining parts in random shrapnel. X sighed. "This is AMAZING, X! Thank you!!!" Zero said via wireless transmitter. "I'm not rebuilding that wall…" Doppler said, cleverly avoiding labor. X summoned the cleanup crew, who were not at all fond of Zero's mischief.

Forte and Dynamo walked in, panting. There was blood running from both, and Dynamo stepped with an awkward limp. Forte couldn't move his left hand very well, nor open his right eye. X couldn't tell who the winner was. Doppler started the conversation. "So, did you boys have fun?" he asked kindly. Dynamo lifted his broken visor and smiled, then nodded. Apparently, Forte made him unable to speak. "Okay, so, who won?" Bass, of course, raised his hand, and then pointed to himself. "I downed him sooo fast! He didn't see it coming!" Dynamo gave him a look of anger, like the playful god was lying. Forte replied to this by sticking out his tongue and pulling his lower eyelid down, a gesture of childlike "in-your-face"ness. Dynamo immediately kicked Forte hard in the stomach, knocking him to the floor. Forte responded by throwing the massive Reploid off of him and across the room. He skidded a short length and slowly got up, panting as he did so. He pulled out his Saber and Forte extended his double blades. As they were charging at each other, Zero glanced down from his mech. Forte looked directly into Dynamo's eyes, and right when they were ready to strike, a giant mechanical foot crashed down in front of them. Bass impulsively jumped off it and landed safely away. However, Dynamo didn't, and collided with it. He passed out on the floor from his wounds.

Forte fell backwards, gasping in horror at the giant machine. Zero peered down from his tower to the weary god, wondering why he was acting so. "What the hell is that thing?!" Bass howled, crawling away from it on his hands. X looked upon the sight, and asked, "Haven't you ever seen a Mech before?" Forte shook his head and came to his feet, still staring at the enormous robot in fear. Zero hopped out and onto the floor in front of Forte. "I can't believe _you_, Bass, of all people, have never seen Mech Armor before." Bass shook off his surprise and replied, "Well, robots weren't exactly popular in my day, if I remember correctly." Doppler wheeled the rolling chair he was sitting in over to the group. "Must you boast about your age, Forte? As if some of us aren't already feeling old." he said, and then groomed his white hair as if to prove his point. The god poked his broken eye, winced, and then said: "Well, whatever. I'm tired. I'm going back to bed." X checked the time with the clock on the computer. "But it's only 1:36! How can you be tired?" Forte just stalked off, hands folded over his chest, back to his dorm. X sighed. "Is it just me, or have you noticed how he gets when we talk about his past?" Zero started thinking, recalling the many times before where the god denied a question because it revealed a portion of his life. _He still keeps so many secrets…_Zero thought. _Even after these seven long months._

Then Doppler remembered Dynamo still passed out on his floor, and summoned another cleanup crew. The maintenance team grew weary of this section of the lab due to the various explosions and damages the scientist's experiments caused. They know the lab better than Doppler himself, save for the digital, electrical things. Soon after they had fixed Dynamo, he jerked awake, clutching his throat. "Oh, wait. I can talk now." he said, after realizing he had been mended. Zero looked up from the magazine he was reading. "Did you win? Forte claimed he was the victor." Zero said like he wanted to see them fight again. Dynamo was angry at Forte's apparent lying. He replied: "Damn him! How dare he do that! I'm off to teach him not to mess with me!" He got off of his bed and stomped down the hall, yelling if anyone had seen the god. Zero smiled and restored his gaze to his magazine, a smug grin on his face. "That wasn't very nice, Zero." said X, scolding him. Zero closed his book and rose, and then replied with a terribly hidden false yawn, "Whew! I'm tired. Guess I'll just scoot off to bed now." X stood and rolled his eyes. "You can't. There's another meeting later today, remember?" Zero stretched and said with a smug grin: "Well, the Base's top Hunter ought to be excused for some sleep, don'tcha think?" X reluctantly nodded, seeing some truth in his senpai's words. Zero retreated into his quarters.

Chapter 3

Bass lay there upon his cot, hands behind his head, and his face relaxed. The steel door was shut fast and locked, giving the god an extra sense of security. The fluorescent bulbs mounted in the ceiling cast a pure, bright light all about the room. Forte was thinking about his past. He concentrated and felt around in his mind for the Nightmare. And there it was, safely tucked away in the corner of his head. He pondered about how he had survived against Colonel's fearsome attacks. _Did the Nightmare revive me? Or was it my backup power? Ugh…I can't remember…_he thought to himself. He condensed his mind and tried to bring forth his data of the event, but he couldn't. However, there was something nagging at him, like he was being pulled into a sea. He was drifting away, and he didn't care where he was heading.

Then, suddenly, he awoke to Zero entering his room. He was spinning something around his finger and whistling a random string of notes. Forte got himself into a sitting position, sighed, and asked Zero what he had. "Oh, this? It's the key to the Mech. And I was wondering…" Bass caught the rest of Zero's sentence perfectly. "No. I'm not riding in that thing. Absolutely no way." Zero smiled a devilish grin. He could have passed for Lucifer himself. "Oh, come on. I think you'll like it. It's so cool up there!" Bass stood and held his stance, defiantly resisting Zero's plan. Then Dynamo walked in, a long, twisted metal cord hanging from his hand and a smile on his face. His visor was down, but Forte could still tell what he was thinking. "Don't you dare…" he said to them, a warning. In a moment, the Reploids were upon him, tying the rope tightly around his arms and legs, binding him.

After a few minutes of struggling, Bass found himself unable to move, and being carried toward Doppler's lab. "Ugh! Dammit! Damn you both!! Urk! You'll pay for this insult!!!" he yelled. Not hearing his cries, Zero and Dynamo continued walking, Bass held high above their heads. Dynamo had to crouch to keep the bound god level to the ground. In the hallway, they passed a low-ranking Hunter standing there, gazing with surprise. "Commander Zero!" he asked, confusedly. "What are you doing to him?" Zero peered down to the platinum Reploid, thinking of the right thing to say. "Umm… Get to the training room, man. Go, and ask no more questions." The Reploids continued transporting their load and the low Hunter, still in shock, made his way obediently to the training room. When they finally arrived at their destination, Forte was placed on a table. "Damn you! Doppler! Where are you?! Help!!" he screamed, but the scientist wasn't there. Zero jumped up into his Mecha and laughed. "This'll be fun, Forte! You'll love it!" he maniacally yelled down.

Just then, the scientist came running out of an adjoining room, holding an advanced-looking computer chip. "I've done it! Finally, I've found the missing piece!" Zero pushed his mania aside, and got out of his Mech to survey what Doppler was holding. "Forte! Oh, this is delightful! With your copied CPU, I did some testing and… well, I've finally found the cure!" Forte gasped, and his eyes went blank with astonishment. "You mean…" he asked, stunned. "Yes! I've found the cure for the Zero Nightmare!" Bass pulled his swords out and quickly shattered his bonds. He hopped off of the table and walked over, awe-stricken, to the vaccine. A minute passed, and still the scientist was in ecstasy. "I'm off to tell the rest of the Base of my fortune! I'll be back!" He ran to the door and it closed after him.

A few minutes later, a happy voice sounded over the intercom. "There is now a cure for the Maverick Virus. Those infected should make their way to the lab to see Dr. Doppler. It's finally come!" With a hiss and crackle, the voice dissipated. Zero and Dynamo leaped into the air, overcome by the positive extremity of emotion. Forte looked upon them, and realized how far technology had advanced since he was young. Their joy seemed so real, even though it was only logarithms and numbers. In spite of that, Forte released a small smile. _Even I feel emotions_, he thought. _Who knew?_

X rushed into the room, and jumped onto Zero, knocking him to the floor. "Yes! I can't believe he actually did it! Now, the tides of this war can be reversed!" Doppler reentered, and following him were Signas and a few others. The ones in the back carried an unconscious Maverick, laid out carefully on a stretcher. They placed him in the infirmary, across from the room Forte had once been kept in. Doppler excitedly skipped into the room, vaccine in hand. The wait took a while.

About an hour later, Doppler walked out, and was followed by a tired-looking former Maverick. Doppler, almost insane with joy, motioned for everyone to look at his product. The fixed Reploid stood and smiled, bearing no signs of the Maverick Virus at all. He appeared completely cured. "Wow, Doc! You're amazing!" Dynamo casually said to the doctor. He blushed, and thanked him. "Okay! Now, bring me the other Mavericks we've captured!"

Chapter 4

The next day, there were several new additions to the Base. The first, a green, husky Reploid joined their ranks as a class B Hunter. He said his name was Enerian, and his creator was Russian. He was welcomed into the power-seeking group, over which Forte reigned and they all envied him. He quickly gained the nickname, "E-Tank." Next, there was a sort of scrawny, weak-looking Reploid. He was grey and silver, with platinum blonde hair. He said he didn't have a name, so X dubbed him Silver. He looked up to X like an abandoned puppy that had found a caretaker. Third, there was a clumsy, yellow one. He was short and very round, and was always dropping things. His name was Double. The fourth and final one was a dagger wielder. She had two, short pink daggers. She was adored by Forte, who had never seen a female with beauty like hers. Her name was Serenade. She was kind of short, like Forte, and had lower back-length lavender hair. Her eyes were the most vibrant sapphire the god had ever gazed upon. Whenever she walked by, Forte's mouth watered, and he overlooked his work at hand. However, she was a mere C-class, while Forte was a UH-rank, the highest ranking.

After they had been repaired, Doppler gave them each a personality test to see if they were the same as before they were Mavericks. When it was Serenade's turn, Forte waited outside of the room until, at long last, she finally left. He pretended to just be walking by, and he caught her attention. She walked over to him, and then slightly bowed, as was usual for lower-ranked Hunters to do when met with a higher ranking officer. "You don't need to bow to me…" Forte uneasily said. That was the most professional sweet-talking he had ever done. She perked up strangely, and smiled. "That's alright with you, senpai?" she said in her fragile, yet strong voice. Forte grinned, and she blushed. "Yeah, that's fine," the god replied. "Do you want to go train?" he quickly asked her. _Damn… that was too fast! _the god thought, angrily looking into his own mind. "Sure! I could use the practice." Forte kept his cool. "So, I'll meet you there in an hour?" she asked. "Uh… sure! Yeah, that's fine, I mean…" She smiled, and walked away to collect her daggers from her room.

When she was out of sight, Forte exhaled and released the nervous breath he had. He backed up against the wall, and then sank to the floor, exhausted. His mind was racing. This was the first time he had ever liked a female. _Why the hell did his creator program him so?!_ _Damn him and his artificial hormones__‼_ However, Forte not only found her attractive, but he also felt the need to protect her. This was a strange, foreign feeling for him. He swore to himself that he would not allow any harm to befall her, not ever. X was walking down the same hallway that Forte was breaking down in. He hurried over. "What's wrong, Bass?" he consolingly asked, and placed his hand on the god's shoulder. The god jumped at X's cool touch. He regained himself, and coolly said, "Nothing… Well… wait, why am I talking to you about this?! You know nothing about girls!!" he yelled. X looked heartbroken, a world of desolation and loneliness on his face. Forte ran off to find Zero, who probably had a vaster amount of knowledge about chicks than he did. Now X sank to the ground, crying pathetically.

"Zero!! I need your help!!" the panicking god yelled down the crowded hall. A few heads turned to face him, and then turned away. He dodged between Reploids and humans until he reached his destination. "Zero! I need your advice…" he desperately said. "What? What do you need?" he asked. Forte pulled him into the hallway, where there were very few people. "What is it, Forte? Calm down, alright?" Forte's breathing regulated a small bit. "Umm…" was what he said, with all the courage he could muster. The calming red swordsman held the frightened god by the shoulders. "What's the matter? Tell me." Forte took a few long breaths, then answered: "Umm, okay. There's this girl I kinda…like… and…Well, I just don't know what to do! What do you suggest, Zero?" To this Zero thought. Then he said, "Well, does she like you back? Who is she, anyway?" Forte bit his lip, and then said, "Serenade. I think she likes me, but I'm not sure." Zero backed up, confused and happy for his older brother. "No way… the new Hunter? Good job, Bass!" he delightfully said.

This didn't help the frustrated god. "We have a date in an hour. I don't know what to say, or do! I'm so nervous." This was the first time the crimson swordsman had ever heard Bass willingly admit his emotions. _This girl must really be getting to him_… he thought. "Well, here's a plan. You go up to her, and ask her if she needs any tutoring on her dagger skills. Then you show her the correct way, and let her try. She'll soon like you more, and you'll know it!" Zero said to the calming god. "Okay… Will this work?" he anxiously asked. Zero happily replied, "Sure it does! That's what I used to get Iris' attention on me. It's still working fine!" he said, proud of his relationship. Now Forte relaxed. "Okay. Thanks Zero!" he said as he left for the training room. Zero smiled kindly, knowing how he was still fulfilling his oath to remain Bass' friend.

Forte was standing in the training hall. He gazed around, and could name all the scars he added to this old room. Then, he heard from the door, "Senpai!", and he knew she had come. She was wearing her normal clothes, a red jacket with a scarf and matching black shorts. She was wearing protective white gloves with the tips of the fingers cut out for delicate work. In each hand was a pink dagger with a golden hilt. Forte slowly walked over to her, keeping his normal, charismatic face up. "Hello," he said calmly, which was quite a feat for him at the moment. "Would you like to get started?" he asked. She smiled and nodded. Bass smiled too, and his nervous-o-meter lowered its gauge.

The god extended his blades with a "sching" sound, and his student jumped. He was apologetic, and it showed on his face. "I'm sorry…" he said casually. Serenade regained herself, and said it was nothing. "Now then, what can you do?" he asked, assessing her skills. She slashed into the air, smashing invisible, intangible foes. By the end of her rapid slashing, she had cut the air seventeen times. She started panting and rested her arms on her knees. Bass complemented her, but said she needed more work on stamina. Bass wanted to show off, so he called Dynamo into the room. A few minutes later, the massive Reploid ducked through the doorway and stood beside his summoner. "Yeah?" he asked.

Then the girl standing across from him caught his eye. Even though he had his visor down, Bass could tell where he was looking. The hulking robot whispered almost silently to Bass, "Nice." Forte responded by a subtle but strong elbow to the groin. Dynamo inhaled, then took the pain and again stood upright. He glared at the god, who was trying to keep from laughing. Forte cleared his throat. "This, Serenade, is Dynamo. He's here so I can show you how strong you can become." He turned to his comrade. "Draw." he said fiercely. As Dynamo was still getting his saber out, Forte jumped at him, pinning him to the ground. With one hand he held him down by his throat. "Serenade, this is a good way to finish an opponent. Always hit them low, so they can be taken down easier." He got off of the struggling Dynamo and put his swords away. Then Dynamo promptly said, "Bass, I didn't sign up for this!" Bass smiled and rolled his eyes. "Well, whatever. I'm training someone right now. I'll give you a cookie afterwards, okay?" Dynamo laughed, a painstakingly fake, sarcastic laugh, and got to his feet. "Draw." he said again, and lunged, but dashed away, causing Dynamo to flinch and almost fall over. In less time than it took for a thought process to be fulfilled, Bass was behind Dynamo, ready to pounce. "Oh-" Dynamo said, or rather tried to say, and then Forte jumped on his back, knocking him over frontward.

Then, he pulled both of his arms together and held them, then pulled out a pair of Hunter handcuffs, and fastened Dynamo's hands together. "And that's the maneuver you're gonna use when detaining a Maverick. Know these moves; they could save your life." Forte warningly said to Serenade, who was still standing there watching Dynamo be degraded. Forte rose off of his detainee and stepped a few paces back. "Get up Dynamo." This was, of course, directed at the struggling mass, which then rose. "You see Serenade, sometimes they resist arrest. In that case, well… You see this button?" he asked, and pointed to a yellow, pulsing bulb on a remote controller. She nodded. He smiled and pressed it, and Dynamo fell writhing to the floor. Once down, he laid there convulsing. Forte released the button, and the Reploid sat there, sweating and panting. "What the hell was that for, Bass?!" he yelled. "Serenade, that button sends a powerful electric current through your Maverick's body. Use it wisely, but only when they are away from you. 'Sparks will arc.' Remember that." The tutoring god walked over to her, and she bowed. Pseudo embarrassed, he put his fingers on her chin and raised her head up. "You don't need to bow to me…" he said kindly and with a smile. "I'm sorry, sensei…" she replied sadly. "Oh well, let's get to the important stuff. Show me how you hold your blades." She held her two pink daggers out in front of her face, pointed inward. The god stood beside her and moved her hands to the proper position. Then, he showed her the strongest way to swing, and jumping slashes were added to her list of executable moves. Dynamo stood and angrily said, "Well, I have a mission in an hour. I'm off!" He left the room.

Chapter 5

X and Silver were standing in the doorway, carefully watching Bass and his student. Silver was nervously eyeing the ground, lost in his own world, until X finally said, "I never knew Forte could be so nice. Helping a lower-ranking Hunter? And a girl, too? There must be something going on in his head." Silver looked up at X, and said in his weak voice, "What is he normally like?" To that, X sighed. "Well, he's a master programmer and technician, but he has this insatiable lust for power. Oh, and he can destroy anybody in this building at any given time, but that just makes me wonder… Why should he need more power? He's already strong enough. I'm just glad he's using his talent in a productive way." Silver twisted his hands, a habit he gained whenever he was contemplating something. "Can he tutor me?" he nervously asked. X sighed, and Silver understood. "Well, you see Silver… Bass works mainly with swords, while you use guns. I could instruct you, if you wanted me to." Silver's grey eyes lightened with hope. "You would do that?" he asked. X nodded happily. They both joined Forte and his ward.

"Hi, Forte! How are you today?" X said with a friendly wave. Bass, wanting to be mean, told X, "Ah, so I see you finally stopped crying. That hallway's floor is pretty cold, huh?" X was embarrassed. "Umm," he said, pathetically trying to hide his feelings. "I in no way did that! You must be thinking of someone else!" Silver gazed at his mentor with disbelief. "Okay, let's train over here, Silver!" he quickly added, pulling his apprentice away jerkily. Forte sighed, a smile on his face, and shook his head. Serenade curiously looked at Forte, not understanding the joke. A drop of sweat rolled down his face. He didn't think she'd be the one to laugh at someone's faults. "Umm… well…" the god nervously stammered. "What is it? Was he crying earlier?" she asked, and Forte blushed after hearing her voice. She sounded concerned, but then Forte remembered that females didn't enjoy being lied to. "Well… He was running in the hallway and fell over something and started crying!" Serenade made a stern face, and Forte tensed like he was going to get hurt very badly very soon.

Quite to the contrary, she burst out laughing. The god was shocked. "Wow! He really cried? That's sooo weak!" She held her stomach and hunched over laughing. Forte couldn't believe it. In front of him was a beautiful female that used blades and mocked the weak. His life couldn't have been better. To ease the apprehension (and halt her laughter,) Forte asked a simple question. "Will you…umm… Will you continue coming here… with me… to train and other things?!" It started like a normal question, but steadily rose to almost a yell as the god lost his cool. The purple-haired vixen put a finger to her mouth, and wondered for a little bit. "Are you asking me out?" she said, and Forte couldn't breathe. He blushed, he sweat, and his hands curled themselves into odd shapes. He nodded, and replied, "Well… if you want me to, then yeah."

Serenade ran up to him and jumped, knocking them both to the ground. Forte couldn't get up, or even move. She hugged him tight, and lifted him up off the ground. She couldn't stop smiling. Forte hugged her back, but warily, as he had never done so before. Now Zero joined the party. He leaned against the doorframe. "Oh… is this a bad time?" he asked in a very what-are-you-doing-with-that-girl kind of way. Forte looked at him and smiled. Serenade let go of Forte, and called out, "Kay! See you later, 'Sensei'! Bai!" She waved to him, and he smiled back and waved. Then she ran out of the room and to the "new Hunters' meeting. Forte stood there, staring at the door she'd left out of, until Zero walked up to him and poked him. Only then did he leave his love trance. "Wow… you really like her, don't you?" He groggily nodded. They both went back to their dorms to spread the word.

"I can't believe it! Does he even have a soul?" one of the low-level Hunters asked another. "I don't know! Can he even feel emotions? I only thought he was a weapon they would deploy if the Base was lost!" Then Forte stepped into the room, and it fell silent, like Death was watching them all. Forte got many awkward glances, and then shudders as he peered back. He located X sitting next to Silver on a bench near the far wall. He was doing puzzles and owning them. "What's up with everyone? Now they actually look at me, but with strange faces." he asked. X started giggling. Bass made a weird look. "Well, the truth is…" Forte eased him forward. "Um, nobody here thought you had it in you, Forte. Not even Doppler could predict you! And you know how familiar he is with your inner workings." Bass sighed, still not understanding. He looked at Silver who held his gaze for a split second, then cowered and looked at the floor. The god motioned with his head. "What's up with him?" This was directed at Silver, who tried to shrink into his own world. X set down his puzzle, his face serious. "Well… his experience as a Maverick was… somewhat traumatizing." Silver started trembling, and his breath came in ragged gasps. X put an arm around the solemn Reploid, then turned to Forte. "Please. Let's talk about something else." Forte rolled his eyes. _How fitting that he should be with the weak_. The hubristic god pulled his arms around his head, joining them on the back of his neck while he simultaneously lifted his feet onto the table and crossed them. "Well, we can talk about our next mission. Where are we going now?" X applied a face of disgusted annoyance. "How could you not know where we're going? Weren't you at the meeting?" Forte sighed meanly, and replied, "No. I was being dragged around by Dynamo at the time." X took a moment to remember. "Oh."

Now Silver had stopped his weeping, and then vanished into his own dimension, where he felt secure. "Well, I was told that they discovered a hidden Maverick base somewhere in the mountains, and they're sending all the low-class Hunters as a training mission." Forte made an odd, yet angered face. He protested, "The fools! Do they not know how feeble the minds of our weak are? They could easily succumb to the Maverick Virus, or be killed! They should stay within the safety of these walls and let the High-level Hunters take over!" Forte felt many eyes on his back, and he realized the room had silenced once again. He turned around, but the eyes that normally cowered now stared back in fear, respect, or perhaps… hope? Did they honestly think that Forte was trying to defend _them_? There was only one he was concerned with. "What?!" he yelled, loud enough that Reploids in the hallway cringed. He looked back at X with his teeth bared, then bounded onto the ceiling and into the air duct that would take him to the rooftop. The Reploids in the room didn't know what to believe. Why was it that the most potent robot in history stop to consider the low Hunters? Still, nobody spoke a word; they all knew what the other was thinking.

Chapter 6

Forte crouched on one of the many satellite receivers on the jagged roof of the Hunter Base. He had donned his cloak, and it flapped about in the wind like it was attempting to escape from unknown deities. This was his favorite place to think, his own realm of contemplation. No one else dared to brave the high slopes and risk falling and further injury. So far, Forte was the only one capable of balancing here. The sun was rather low in the sky, dark red and casting the sky in shades of crimson and violet. The ground scarcely hid shadows of rocks and all that remained of the world. Suddenly, Forte thought he heard something from inside the Base, a subtle ringing. He sighed, assuming it was nothing and relocated his chi, super concentrating on his thoughts. _Why am I feeling such things?_ he thought. _I know I never felt this way ever before… could I possibly be… evolving? Am I the one with limitless potential, the ultimate robot?_ An unprecedented gust of wind sent his cloak away from his body. His scars from the years shown with a certain retaliation to being covered. It was like they wanted to be showing, to let the world know what this peculiar robot had lived through. He realized the cold on his back, and put the garb over it, hiding the frayed marks. _I guess I can feel the cold now…_ he said, and lightly smiled. He closed his eyes in solitary reflection.

Meanwhile, X was escorting Silver to his new room. Silver kept to himself, while X greeted everyone he met with a loving smile. The blue Reploid turned to his comrade. "So, do you enjoy it here?" he warmly asked. Silver nodded in response. Then Double, (very ineptly,) came dashing around the bend and tripped over his cargo of a box. A shadow of dust enveloped him, and then he stood, smiling ignorantly. "Hey, X! What's up?" he said, completely forgetting his fall. Silver appeared lightly startled. "Oh, nothing. I was just showing Silver here the rest of the Base. What's up with you?" Double realized how messy his fall was, and started gathering the bits of scrap he'd been moving. "I'm on another mission from Doppler. I'm to find as many extra parts lying around as I can and return them to him. I guess it's keeping me busy, huh?" X smiled and replied yes. Just then, Silver cocked his head in the direction of the roof. He said in his quiet voice, "Do you hear that?" to X. "Hear what?" he inquired. Silver knew he'd heard something, like a high tone, ringing and biding. It bounced around in his head, urging him onward to where it originated. It erupted to a crescendo, building force and strength, until it was unbearable. He abruptly walked away from his guide to the nearest point where he could access the roof.

Climbing onto the roof, he spotted Forte standing on one of the many pillars jutting out of the Base's top. Now the sound was louder; the calling fully manifested. It was screaming at him now, coming seemingly from Forte's unmoving body. Forte must have sensed his presence, because he turned and gazed straight into the heart of the cowardly Reploid. He had no choice but to stumble between the sharp edges of the rooftop and the ground below to get to the source of the sound. When he was at the base of the pole, he looked to the sky, over which Forte dominated. "What do you want?" he said, annoyed by the low Hunter's presence. He didn't look like he was suffering from the din, but every now and then his eyebrow twitched, signaling that something was bugging him. "Do you hear that sound, that ringing?" Silver yelled up to the god. He seemed somewhat surprised at the question. "…How do you know about that?" he asked angrily. "I hear it! It's deafening!" he shouted. He was distressed. Forte casually leapt down from his tower, landing on his feet in a crouch without hitting any of the spikes. The sound got a bit louder. "Please… I don't know what's happening! Make it stop…" This was the most Silver had ever spoken as far as he could remember. He was on the verge of tears. Forte empathized with him, although he didn't really show it. "I don't know why we hear what we do, but I don't know how to stop it." Then it struck him, like frozen iron. The pain erupted in his mind, where he had hidden the Maverick Virus. Free thought became complicated, but he still had one notion. _Is this the Maverick Virus?! Why's it acting up?!_He then thought further, and a horrifying idea struck him. _Why is Silver suffering? _He knew what had happened.

He ran through the hallways where the other converted Mavericks lay writhing on the floor, screaming in pain and terror. The burning grew more and more intense with each step, and his thoughts were diluted by some unseen thing. He ran until he found X. "X! Urgh… There's… There's something wrong with the vaccine! The virus… It's still alive! It's taking over everyone!!" X stood tense, then regained his senses, and told Forte to barricade himself in his room. X would take care of the rest. Forte leaned against the wall, holding his head; it was the only motion that didn't bring more throbbing to his skull. He felt as though he would explode; or rather implode from the pressure of everything. He cautiously made his way to his room, and with his torch, melted the door to the wall, sealing the room indefinitely. He slinked down the wall in the corner and held himself, rocking back and forth, for that was the only thing soothing.

Back on the roof, Silver started convulsing, every thought drawing him farther to oblivion, to a world of desolation; completely alone. This new entity tore open his mind and spread it around the floor, scattering his judgment across several dimensions made entirely of darkness. The pain; the burning was almost unbearable. He just wanted it to end; he just wanted to be himself, before the Nightmare assimilated him, back in the days of light. He remembered the days before Sigma, the days of innocence slowly closing and coming to an end as the sky changed with pollution and neglect for the earth's supplies. He also remembered infinitesimal pieces of his past, parts he hadn't recalled earlier. These were the same thoughts he was thinking when he was taken over for the first time, back so many months ago.

Chapter 7

Things were brighter then. The humans and Reploids were at peace. No one had heard of Sigma, or even the Maverick Virus. It was the best of times; everyone was happy. Then, unexpectedly, a new epidemic broke out, a virus, one that would only affect Reploids. It made them turn violent and hurt the people they loved. Whole families were torn apart by the things that helped them, and best friends often had to end each other's lives. It was horrible. Most of mankind started to fear their robot protectors, and this caused all un-Maverick Reploids to be discriminated against.

Slowly, the Reploids were pushed out of the humans' lives and hated with a passion. Wanting to clear the Reploid race of the title, "Mavericks," the Maverick Hunter base was formed. They vowed to defend the humans from their Maverick brethren, and in turn, coexist peacefully with the humans. The leader of the humans halfheartedly agreed. Later, the world was told that X, the top Hunter at the Base was dead, killed by some unknown Maverick. Next, somehow, X was brought back, and Colonel was killed by X's assassin. Then there was a new Hunter added to the base, supposedly the one who killed X.

Silver saw all of these events through the eyes of a murderer, a bloodthirsty Maverick. A lot of it he still couldn't recall, but he knew the worst fragments. He remembered feeling the pressure in his hands as he wrapped them around a Reploid's throat, and the give as his prey crumbled to the ground. He watched entire cities burn, and felt a smile that wasn't his creep across his face. He was powerless to this demon inside him. Its wishes commanded his body, and its mind tortured him incessantly with false visions of hope. It scared him, or rather, made him afraid of himself. True, it strengthened him, but it also changed his mind to one who craved violence. He began to hate himself and his very existence, because he was the one who tore his own family apart, person by person; piece by piece.

Then, with Colonel and himself and many others, he attempted to raid the Hunter Base, and hopefully try to convert X and Zero. This however failed, resulting in the death of Colonel and capture of most of the low Mavericks. They were kept unconscious until Doppler finally perfected the vaccine and changed them back to their regular selves. Next, they were given jobs around the Base to get them used to the Hunters they all attempted to take over.

Silver rolled onto his back, barely able to move or think. _Is this what Death feels like…?_ he wondered. He felt himself drifting away. He didn't even care about the pain now. A light gust of wind blew his platinum hair over his face. His gray eyes were slowly closing, and his breathing slowed. He felt calmer than he'd ever been before in his entire life.

X ran towards Doppler's lab swiftly. Along the way, he witnessed several former Mavericks lying on the floor, sweating and screaming. _Damn! What's going on here?_ he contemplated. Arriving at his destination, something made him stop: a deep, gravelly voice. He halted and put his back to the wall, listening intently. "…is it done?" the deep voice asked. X knew he'd heard this tone before… but who was it? Then, he heard what must have been Doppler reply, "Yes! I did it… They didn't even know." _What on Earth are they talking about?_ X thought. He had to find out immediately. He jumped into the room and gasped. Sigma was standing near the far wall, and a very surprised Doppler was sitting in a work chair.

"What the hell-?" yelled X. Sigma whipped out his Saber. "Wait!" yelled Doppler. Sigma turned to him and said harshly, "Shut it, Doppler. You just wait until I'm finished with him." As the Maverick leader walked over to X, the blue gunslinger yelled, "Doppler? Are you working with him?! What's going on??" Sigma laughed coldly, but there was a suggestion of fatigue in his voice. He replied: "You can't figure it out?" X couldn't comprehend what he had said. Realizing the danger he was facing, he activated his buster and held it up to Sigma's chest. "Stay back, Sigma! I'll shoot!" he yelled. Sigma laughed and continued advancing. _What do I do?_ he thought. _He's getting awfully close…_ He did the one thing he should have done earlier, and began charging his gun. Sigma's smug grin left his face to be replaced with bared teeth ready to weather the blow.

X grimaced as he blasted Sigma almost point-blank with a fully-charged shot. He hated using his buster, but now it was totally necessary. Sigma, amazingly, recoiled and ran his back against the wall, a smoking crater where the plasma scorched him. He was panting now, like they'd been battling for a day. "Urgh…" he said painfully. _What's wrong with him? He was never like this before! Why is he so tired?_ Sigma's attacker asked himself. "Heh… I never thought I'd have to do this. Hngh!" Sigma said, panting and gasping. He started convulsing, and emitted a purple light. "Sig… Hey, what are you doing?!" Doppler shrank back into his chair, growing ever more panicky. Sigma smiled through his pain, and for the first time ever, X knew why Sigma was unbeatable.

Chapter 8

Forte was having a hard time controlling himself. Zero pounded at his door, and tried to open it. The insane-with-power god kept yelling distorted warnings to Zero, who was ignoring them stubbornly. "Dammit, Forte! Open this door!!" he continually yelled. The god screamed back: "Nng! No! Go… take care of the-urgh- other Mavericks!" Zero knew the risk of putting family first in a war, but he didn't care. This was his only living relative, and damn it, he would not live on alone. Finally, Zero broke down the door with his saber, and Forte leapt away. "Damn you! Urgh! Go!" he yelled upon the swordsman's entry. Forte was trembling and falling over himself, and there was blood running down his face. "Forte! Calm down, okay? You'll be fine." Forte felt another wave of pain strike him, and the harsh whisper commanding him to submit to its will. "Dammit! No!" the frantic god yelled to invisible divinities. He held his head and fell to the battered floor, screeching in agony. "Zero! -urk- Zero… Knock me out and-Urgh! Tie… Tie me up, strong…ly! Do…it! Do it!!" He was practically crying now. Zero was astonished at the amount of force the robot before him could endure. Zero yelled to a lightly-colored Reploid in the hall to bring some rope and water. Zero turned to Forte, and said, "Okay." Forte tried to smile, but instead fell over onto his side and cursed.

Zero held Forte up by his shoulders. The god couldn't stand on his own anymore, but his upper half still remained under his control. Zero faced the injured god toward the wall, and with one hand, supported him fully. With his other, it was sent down lightning fast on the back of Forte's neck. He gasped and fell limp. Zero slowly lowered him to the ground, and laid him down on his back. He looked so peaceful in his sleep… Zero thought. Then the low Reploid appeared in the doorway, carrying water and some steel cable. In spite of the commotion, he seemed fascinated. "You… You tamed him!" he worriedly said. "I never thought that was possible…" Zero smiled, then took the water and started washing Forte's face. "Not really… I think that somewhere in him, just somewhere, he has a soul hidden, and I'll be the one to find it." The Reploid sat next to him and sighed. "Or that pretty girl Serenade might."

_Damn!_ Zero had totally forgotten the other Mavericks! "Quickly, help me tie him up." the swordsman said to the other Reploid. "What's your name, anyway?" he added. He replied proudly, "Zakk mk 5, Hunter Class B. 14th unit, Dragoon. Nice to meet you, Zero." Zero was semi-surprised. "That's a mouthful." he said. "I'll call you Zak." Zak smiled. "Now help me wrap these cords around him. Tie them tight- We don't want him getting loose, now." Zak nodded, and tied both of the sleeping god's hands together.

Meanwhile, Sigma was still grimacing and changing. "Sigma?! What the hell's going on?" X yelled to the shifting Maverick overlord. Sigma bellowed a painful cry, and then turned translucently purple as he vanished into his own mist. The powered-down Saber fell to the floor. The cloud hovered over to Doppler, who screamed. "No! God, _no_!!" Sigma's disembodied mist surrounded the Reploid scientist, and he fell writhing to the floor. "Agh! Urgh…" he uttered, and started glittering with the pinkish-purple mist that was supposedly Sigma. "Doppler? Are you alright?" X asked. To this, he stood, and cracked his neck, his aura diminishing. "I'm fine, X. Are you alright?" This voice wasn't Doppler. It was too low to be Doppler. Then, he opened his eyes, and they were the same, absent-of-pupil blue X had encountered before. The possessed Doppler crossed his arms and began to laugh. The possessed scientist walked casually to Sigma's fallen saber, picked it up, and leaped onto the Hunter.

Once he had welded Forte's door shut, Zero motioned for Zak to follow him. "Are we going to find the Mavericks?" he nervously asked. Zero nodded, and told him to run faster. They were headed for the roof, where Silver was residing. Zero noticed how anxious Zak looked, and asked, "Are you scared?" Zak nodded, and replied, "Yes… I'm not strong enough to take on a Maverick. I can't even harm any in the training room! I'm so weak…" Zero stopped sprinting. He put his hand on the Reploid's shoulder. "You'll be fine, okay? You're with me, remember? I'll take over if anything happens." Now, Zak held his head high, proud and inspired by the veteran Hunter's words. They continued running toward the roof access.

Flinging off the hatch, Zero jumped through the access hole and onto the jagged roof; his saber pulsing at the ready. He couldn't see Silver anywhere, and deemed it safe for Zak to ascend. They both stood there, searching for the Maverick, when all of a sudden, a distorted howl sounded from somewhere and echoed. "Stay behind me…" Zero said to his apprentice. Zak pulled his glaive off of its sheath on his back, and held it in front of him with two shaky hands. They both walked in formation a while, scoping the possible places where their Maverick might be hiding.

Out of the blue, Silver launched himself from the top of the pillar where he was hiding and onto the two Hunters. Zero reacted, quickly as lighting, and threw the Maverick off course. He skidded to a halt a few yards away, then got to his feet and stood crookedly. Zero slowly walked over, leaving Zak awe-stricken by himself. "I'm not gonna hurt you, Silver. Just slowly walk over here with your hands in the air." However, Silver's mind was far too poisoned by the Maverick demon to understand language. He flung himself onto Zero, and they both fell within inches of a metal spike. _Damn!_ Zero thought. I've _got to be careful… _Zak stood there, watching, and wondering how to help. Zero kicked Silver off, and slashed him in midair. The maverick fell to the ground without moving a muscle.

Zero jumped into the air and landed on his feet, then walked over to the damaged Maverick. There was a long, but shallow gash running across his chest, from the edge of his abdomen to his neck. It looked bad, but he would still live. "Hey Zak?" the Hunter Commander said to him. "Yeah?" he inquired. "You think you're strong enough to carry this guy?" Zak flexed his arm and nodded, completely certain of himself. He stepped over to the fallen Reploid and buried his arms under his back, then flung him over his shoulder. His knees almost buckled under the weight, but some readjusting fixed this. He exhaled, and began walking, then almost fell due to his load. He smiled the grin of the defeated at Zero, and he understood.

Now Zero carried the load, and without tripping or stumbling at all, successfully maneuvered Silver's limp body down the ladder of the access hatch and into the hallway. They had to get him to Doppler for repairs, or at least into his own cell, where he couldn't be a danger to anyone. Zak and Zero found the some of the other Mavericks, and dominated them too, but placed them in separate rooms and bound them securely.

Chapter 9

Now Forte was gaining consciousness. He was still bound, but nothing could contain a god if he wanted to escape. Through some major aerobics and painful twisting, Bass was able to free his body from Zero's bonds. His headache was greatly decreasing in magnitude, but the Virus still lingered, spreading its slow poison through his veins. Every now and then, the Virus caused a digit to twitch or move, and this hindered the god's movements. _Damn…_ he thought. He needed to temporally free himself of the Maverick virus so he could function correctly.

He isolated the first computer unit he could find from the Base network, and then plugged a contact cord into his neck peripheral. He could now channel the Virus into this sterile computer without any risk of infection to the other Reploids. He did so, but felt as though a part of him had been torn out, like he belonged to the virus, or it despised its loss. _I won't let it control me…_ he said robustly to himself. Once he had gotten rid of the Virus, he was free to help the other Mavericks. _Ugh… why do I have to help them? Feh…_ he thought to himself as he ran through the halls, seeking out the Hunter that meant the most to him.

Meanwhile, in Doppler's lab, the battle between Sigma (in Doppler's body) and X was intense. The blue warrior was lying on the ground and struggling to get up. Sigma kicked him repeatedly, but X couldn't fight back. He had a failsafe that would disable him if he ever tried to murder his friends. It was the perfect battle for Sigma. X got to his feet and coughed up some blood. "Sig…ma… How did…" he tried to say, but was interrupted by a swift uppercut to the chin. X flew into the air, and landed on his back. His eyes looked straight ahead in desperation, and the color, which was normally green, changed to a mysterious, full indigo. He got back upright and swayed bit. He didn't say a word, and Sigma laughed. "What will you do now, X? Will you kill a friend? Or let me take over? Make your decision!" he yelled tauntingly. X said nothing. His emotions were no longer evident. He was an enigma; lost in thought, yet knowing exactly what to do. He raised his gun and started charging again. Sigma hadn't anticipated this.

Forte was dashing through the crowded hallway, looking for Serenade. "Dammit! Has anybody seen her?!" he yelled, and a few cowardly Reploids pointed to the training room. He had brought the Network cable with him, and it was tied around his forearm. When he reached the training room, he found Serenade, both daggers out and slashing. In front of her lie the bodies of two humans, bloodied and broken. She noticed Bass standing there, and ran over. She leapt onto him with the intention of decapitating him, however, Forte with his superior strength, held both of her wrists until she dropped her short blades. He kicked them far away to the other Hunters present, and told them to hold them.

The Maverick Serenade was struggling violently. She tried to kick him, but he simply lifted her into the air. "Serenade?" he said caringly to the frightened Reploid. "Serenade, I need you to be strong. Okay? Fight it, Serenade! Don't let it control you!" These soothing words held no meaning for the Maverick, and she bit his hand, and deeply too. His blood flowed down her face, and she smiled maniacally. _Wait…_ Forte thought, remembering the network cable on his arm. He gently lowered her to the ground and held her arms fast behind her back. He then winced as he plugged it into the nape of his neck. He took the other end and jacked in to Serenade's neck peripheral. She gasped, and then passed out.

Chapter 10

Forte found that this mind was very different from his. The problem-solving algorithms were less advanced, and this mind was mostly innocent. He searched for the Virus, but it had hidden itself very cautiously. _Damn… Where is it?!_ he thought. He took a tentative step into Serenade's database, where her memories were kept. He ran a few of them, and saw a wonderful life, full of light and happiness. This surprised him, as he had never known happiness could be found within the lives of humans. He went to look for more, but an error message appeared. "The file you are trying to reach has been removed from the database. You can search for the file yourself, or"- Bass ignored the rest; something had caught his attention. Off near a border, a dark, closed-off area was the Virus manifested. It saw him, and tried to find a nook in which to escape. Forte ran over to it and wrapped himself around it, not letting it escape or cause further damage. He felt it move to his own mind, and unblocked the barrier, giving it entry.

Forte took a deep breath once he was back in the material world, and came to his senses. He reached back and unplugged the cord from his neck, then Serenade's. He looked around and saw that he was surrounded by the low Hunters. Forte went to say something, but couldn't. The Virus from Serenade was trying to take him over again, and winning fast. "Dammit!" he yelled as he fell to the floor holding his head. Serenade's eyes flickered, and then opened. She got up and rubbed her head. "Oww…" she said. Then, she heard Forte groaning and looked over. He was lying on the ground, blood running from his lips and nose. He was rolling violently and swearing. She didn't know what to do. "Hey, what's going on here!?" she asked one of her fellow Hunters. "Forte! He… saved you! I think he took your Virus." _My… Virus?_ She thought. Then it came to her.

"Quickly! Help me take him to his room!" the purple-haired calamine yelled to her companions. She recalled Forte in her thoughts and memories, and she discovered what his plan was. She had to find the computer he was using. The Hunters held Forte sturdily on a stretcher and were following Serenade, who bore in mind the way there. "Ah, go… Left! Left here." she directed her assistants. There was the computer, sitting on a table by the battle-scarred wall. She quickly found the port for the network cable, and connected Forte to it. He twitched a lot, but seemed to know what he was doing. Subsequently, he gasped and arched his back into the air. His guards tried to hold him down, but he effortlessly threw them off. He swore, and then held his head. "Oww…" Suddenly, he regained himself, and got off of his stretcher.

"Serenade!" he said loudly, and rushed over and hugged her. She hugged him back tightly, and replied, "Forte! I thought-""No… Don't think those thoughts. I'll always be here for you." She beamed, and in knowing everything would be alright, a single tear ran down her face. The other Hunters in the room inconspicuously shied toward the door trying to evade awkwardness. The door shut, leaving the two Hunters alone. The purple-haired Hunter looked into her savior's eyes, and lifted her lips to his, and bestowed upon Forte the first romantic moment of his entire existence.

Zero and Zak were going to find X. They knew he was in the lab of Doppler, or somewhere near it, but they still were seen searching around the whole Base on their way there. "Dammit! Where the hell is he?!" fumed Zero, as he dashed around a corner, Zak following closely behind. Then, suddenly, X's injured screams filled the air. Zero stopped instantly, and his eyes widened at the unfamiliar sound. "X!! X! Where are you!?" he screamed in desperation, looking this way and that, trying to locate his fallen partner. Zak ran forward, and around the corner of the hallway, a strange purple light showed. "Over here, Zero!" he yelled to his companion. Zero dashed forward and into Doppler's lab. X, broken and bleeding, lay unmoving on the ground. Doppler, a crazed shimmer in his abnormally blue eyes, stood over him with Sigma's Saber in his hand. "Doppler?! What the hell's going on here?!" Zero yelled at the top of his lungs. Doppler said nothing, but laughed. _That's not Doppler's voice!_ realized Zero.

"Doppler's gone, Zero. Guess who?" said Sigma. Zero held Zak back with one hand while the other activated his own Saber. Zak couldn't move, he was so frightened. He'd heard rumors of Sigma and his strength, and therefore knew to keep himself away. Doppler (Sigma) stepped over X's body, and closer to Zero. "Will you kill a friend to kill me, Zero?" Zero grimaced in anger. "Zak, get out of here." he said with intent. Zak nodded and ran out of the lab to fetch reinforcements. "Why are you doing this…?" Zero asked the possessed Doppler. No answer. Instead, he jumped at Zero, who dashed out of the way. "Answer me!" the crimson Reploid yelled to his foe. Doppler simply smiled, and dealt another blow. This time, he hit Zero square in the chest, cutting him deep. The swordsman flew through the air and crashed into a table, sending its contents scattered on the ground. _What the hell?!_ Thought Zero. _I can barely move!_ As he lay there panting, Doppler picked him up by his face and side and held him high in the air.

"Ah… It's been so long, hasn't it, Zero?" Sigma said sadistically. "Mmph…" he replied painfully. This was all he could really say at the moment; Doppler held his mouth closed tight. Doppler released Zero's side, and with his free hand put his Saber back into its holster. Zero's hands weakly grasped Doppler's and tried fruitlessly to free himself, but to no avail; He was held fast. Doppler stepped toward the door with his prey, but lingered. "You want to know something, Zero? You're not like any other Reploid I've ever seen before. What a fine specimen I've caught…" Zero tried to kick Doppler, but he felt as though he couldn't shift. "Here's the plan… I'm going to take you back to my labs, and possibly clone you to build my army. Then, with an entire army armed with your healing abilities, I'll finally be able to take the Earth!" Zero's eyes widened, even though he knew what Sigma's plan was. He didn't know what would happen to him now.

Sigma began walking through the hall to the exit, but he heard some quick footfalls emanating from around the bend. He stood there tensely, ready to face whatever it was. Suddenly, Zak appeared, along with almost the entire C-class behind him. They stood there, looking shocked and confused. "Zero! Are you alright?!" he yelled to his commander. The downed Reploid didn't move, but his eyes flickered. Sigma snarled to the crowd, and they retreated about a foot, shivering with fear. Zak still stood at the head of the group, his glaive at the ready. His determination was absolute. "Dopp- …Sigma, let him go!" he yelled to the Maverick leader, hiding his nervousness and fear. Doppler laughed the laugh that wasn't his. "Well, if you say so…" he replied to Zak's request. Sigma tossed Zero over his shoulder onto the ground behind him. He landed with a 'thuk' sound onto the rough metal floor. He lay unmoving where he fell. Sigma activated both of his Sabers, and jumped at the crowd.

Chapter 11

Zero was unable to move, but his ability to think remained active. His eyelids were half closed, and he was facing away from the battle so he couldn't see, but that didn't keep him from hearing. He heard screams and burning metal, and the electrifying sound of a Saber slash. The fallen swordsman winced as he heard from behind him the horrifying sound of the Hunters being decimated like grass under a lawn mower. Directly following a particularly strong slash, a splash of Zak's blood spattered all over the ground immediately in front of Zero, covering his face and hand in blood that wasn't his own. An involuntary tear rolled down his face as Zero grasped the fate of his former comrade. After a while, Doppler casually strolled back to his captive, wiping the blood off of his hands. He lifted Zero over his shoulder and began walking over the mutilated Hunters. Though he couldn't show it, Zero was weeping inside. He swore that he would avenge his fallen comrade, Zak, and all of the other Hunters that were killed. And X.

Forte and Serenade were scouring the Base, trying to find Zero. Bass had saved a portion of the Maverick Virus, and contained it so he was invulnerable to it. Forte had already gotten over his 'romantic feeling' (caused by Serenade) and was completely serious now. He had a persistent notion that Zero was in trouble. Serenade broke the silence: "Last time I checked, he was headed toward Doppler's lab." Forte stopped. "Hey," he said. "I think I run faster than you. Let me carry you." To this, she smiled and hopped onto his back. They both continued soaring through hallways and corridors until they finally made it into Doppler's lab. They ran over the mangled bodies of the C-class unit, and Bass said, "What the hell happened here?!" They stepped into the lab; Serenade saw X lying motionless on the floor, and gasped. Forte stood for a second, determining what to do. "Serenade, do you still have that networking cable?" She nodded and handed it to him.

The god plugged it into his neck peripheral, then into X's. Both robots' eyes changed to a dull, opaque shade as the connection was established. Forte searched around inside X's CPU until he found the spark that was his conscience. He ran up to it and poked it hard. Then, X's conscience program toppled out and onto the ground. It got up and dusted itself off. "Bass?" it asked. The god signaled yes. It continued, "I can't move… Sigma must have used a poisoned blade! I don't know where Zero is… What's happening?" Bass recoiled. "Sigma?! How the hell did he get here?" X's program gulped. "He's… Well, I think he's actually a virus! He infected Doppler, and went berserk! You need to stop him." Forte shook his head. "Not until you're fixed. You're coming with us." he said. "Umm… How exactly are you going to do that?" the program asked. Forte smiled, and exited X's mind.

Forte gasped as the wire was removed. "Serenade, he's not dead, but badly injured. Can you go and get my tool kit? I'm going to fix him." She nodded, and left. No more than a minute later, she returned, carrying Forte's heavy tool bag in her arms. She placed it on the ground next to the paralyzed X. The god pulled out some tools and got to work. Half an hour later, X opened his eyes and sat upright. He flexed various muscles until he was satisfied he was functioning correctly, and stood. "Wow… Thanks, Forte! You're really good with machinery!" _It's nice to see him as his normal self…_ the god thought. "Do you know where Zero is by any chance?" Serenade asked the newly-awakened X. "Actually, I do! Let me check his communicator … he's… ninety miles west of here?! How'd he move that fast?!" Forte was surprised at this information. "Wait… maybe he's on a shuttle? X, is there anything here that can transport three people that far quickly?" X thought a minute, and then replied, "Yes! There is! It should still be out in the hangar where I left it."

Chapter 12

The party walked out into the bright sunlight of the outside; the heat waves of distortion along the concrete ground altered the distances seen and measured. It was super hot out here, aiming near the higher extremity of the Fahrenheit scale. The burning sun scorched the already-damaged land to almost melting temperatures, but the mechanical beings felt nothing, as was their programming. X quickly hurried toward a huge silhouetted… statue, it seemed like; for the position of the sun made it so. X hopped onto it, and then scurried up it until he reached the top. He fiddled with the controls, and the Mech lowered one arm to the ground, inviting the other passengers on. Forte didn't move; he was still afraid of the hulking behemoth. However, Serenade fearlessly jumped onto it, and it lifted her into the cockpit. "Come on, Forte! It's harmless!" Serenade playfully yelled down. The edgy god smiled a painfully fake grin to her, and took one tiny step forward.

"Oh, get in, Bass! I'm not gonna wait all day. Are you coming or not?" X yelled down. Forte crossed his arms over his chest, and replied, "Just wait! I'm… I'll get on in a minute!" A minute passed, and still the god remained on the ground. X sighed, and then whispered something to Serenade. She laughed, and nodded. This caught Bass' attention. "What are you two talking about up there?!" he shouted. They ignored him. "Hey! I'm talking to-," The god didn't get to finish his sentence, because the Mecha's hand wrapped itself around him tightly. "What the hell?!" Forte yelled as he was lifted into the machine by X's command.

Forte fell into the cockpit, and the thick glass dome covered the pilot and his cohorts. The god jumped to his feet and began banging on the glass, but it wouldn't budge. "Dammit!!" he yelled, and started hyperventilating. His processor slowed down, and then he passed out and fell onto the floor. X laughed, and Serenade giggled. X ran the 'jet' program, and the Mecha started running in the preset direction of where Zero supposedly was. Serenade moved to the back of the pilot's cabin where Forte had fallen, and sat beside him. She played with his ice-blue hair, and then touched his cheek. X looked back to see what she was doing, and warned, "Hey, no funny stuff while I'm driving, okay? I don't want to crash!" She laughed, and replied, "No, of course not, Captain X!" X put the Mech on autopilot before he also joined her in the back.

"He looks so peaceful when he's asleep, you know?" noticed Serenade. "Yeah… I guess so," replied X. "Like you'd never know he wanted to kill things." Serenade smiled and took off Forte's cloak, and then placed it behind his head as a pillow. Just then, Bass rolled over, but didn't awaken. Now he was lying on his side, giving the Reploids a view of a massive scar on his back. Serenade looked at it, and pondered out loud, "Where'd he get that?" X shrugged, and turned Forte so that his back faced the ground again. "I don't know, but I'm sure that's not the only one he has." X said, and then returned to the cockpit.

A while later, Forte's eyes fluttered open, and Serenade was there next to him. "Are you okay now?" she asked him. He tried to sit up, but then realized that he was still inside the Mech. He pushed himself as close to the floor as possible and held himself down in a death grip. "Ummm…. Ummm!" he hurriedly mumbled. He started breathing fast again, and Serenade stroked his chin. "Calm down, Forte… You're gonna be fine, okay? Just sit still, and calm down." He attempted to slow his breathing, but to no avail. "Umm…. I'm- I'm… inside… the Mech…?! Ummm!!" he announced, his respiration still accelerating. He gasped, then blacked out and slumped to the floor once more. Serenade sighed a teasing sigh started wiping the sweat off of his forehead with the god's own cloak.

"X, are we almost there yet?" The driver turned around and replied, "Nope; not even close. Another sixty more miles to go, then we'll be there." Serenade sighed and lay down beside Forte, hands behind her head. She said: "Hmm. Well, I'm going to power down for the day, okay? Wake me up when we get there." X nodded and stretched. "Alright. 'Night." he said. Serenade sat for a moment, and then her eyes dulled and closed. X smiled, and continued piloting the craft.

Chapter 13

Forte awoke to X standing next to him, holding a small and weak tranquillizer in his hand. Forte recalled where he was again, and started freaking out, but X handed him the syringe, and he knew what to do. The god stabbed it into his arm, and as the serum weaved its way through his veins, finally relaxed. Though he was still awake, he couldn't hyperventilate for the life of him. His movements were sluggish. And only a while later did he become aware of Serenade lying beside him, asleep with her hands wrapped around his arm. He gazed upon her form, and something awoke within him: a desire to protect? Or at least not to kill? No, it was definitely not the latter. He still wanted to live out his plan of Reploid rule. So was it the first? _What's wrong with me?_ The confused god wondered.

"Hey, Bass, could you do me a favor and wake her up? We're almost there." asked X from the pilot's seat. However, Forte needn't do a thing; the lavender-haired Reploid stirred and rose of her own accord. "Nngh… Good morning, Sleepyhead." she teased to her guardian. "It's good to see you awake in this thing. Why aren't you flipping out?" Forte smiled and showed her the syringe that recently contained his relaxing serum. "Oh." she said. "I can't move a muscle!" he said smoothly and without a care in the world. Serenade helped him to his feet, and together they walked to the front of the cockpit. Forte slouched in a chair near the front, and Serenade rested upon his lap. X still piloted the giant machine.

A while later, the party of Hunters neared its destination. Forte got out of the machine quickly, as his sedative was beginning to wear off and his fear was returning. Forte put his cloak around Serenade, and told her that it would camouflage her to match the desert floor. Once they were all on the ground, they started walking in the direction of the supposed Maverick Base. Were they in the Mech nearing the Base, they would have certainly been spotted. After a while, they saw a monstrous silhouetted building just on the horizon, seemingly awaiting their presence. "That's it, all right…" X said to his fellow Hunters, with a hint of vengeance in his tone. Forte pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and began smoking. "I never knew you smoked," admitted Serenade. The god smiled, and exhaled a huge puff of smoke. "It's never too early to start, you know X."

"Ha! You honestly believe I'll start smoking?" he replied to Forte. "Well, if I set you on fire, then yes, I do believe it." X laughed nervously. "You're kidding, right? ...Forte?" he said. However, Forte didn't smile or show any kind of emotion whatsoever. Onward marched the Reploids until they found something to hide under for the dark hours, where they were the most susceptible to attack. The discovered a huge mound of boulders just out of the piercing eyes of the Base. "Let's camp here for the night." announced X. Forte leaped to the topmost boulder and looked around, assessing his view. "I'll be lookout for tonight," he said. "Try and get some sleep, okay Serenade?" She nodded, and replied, "Good night, _sensei_!" Bass grinned and got comfortable on his tower.

Chapter 14

The night was uneventful. The morning, however dull it may be, found the Hunters at rest and asleep in their makeshift home. There was no dew upon the sandy, desert floor, but it was still cooler than the preceding day. Forte shimmied down the side of his tower and into the cave where the other Hunters slept. He kicked X until he awoke with a start. Half-asleep, he rose. "Mmm… what? Oh, hi Forte." The god, (his deed done,) advanced toward the sleeping Serenade; a playful glint in his eye. He said softly: "Hey, Serenade, wake up. It's the morning now." Serenade smiled a sinister grin, and took pride in knowing her plan wasn't yet discovered.

At once, the low Reploid sprang off of the ground and threw her cloak around the unsuspecting Forte. "Gotcha!" she yelled, as she wrapped it around him, smothering and ensnaring him. "What the hell?!" was what the tangled god yelled, but it was muffled and distorted. Serenade laughed at her prey, and then pounced on the writhing bundle. She uncovered just his face, giving him a clear look at his attacker. He unwrapped himself and threw his cloak aside. "Well, it's good to see you up…" the beaten god said in a rough, yet playful voice. "Well, is everybody ready?" asked X. The company nodded. "Is there anything we need here before we leave?" Forte replied, "Well, we could use that boulder here… Oh, and that one over there! I like that rock, too…" X gave him a dirty look. Forte smirked, and so did Serenade.

Now, they were finally on their way to the Maverick Base. X suggested they all split up, but Serenade argued against it. "We could get lost." was her reason. So X formulated a different plan: They were to enter through the back way, and then locate Zero and return him to the Hunter Base. Although, even with all this careful planning, nobody knew how dangerous and difficult this would be.

Zero felt like his veins were burning, along with every inch of his body. Tears of pain rolled down his cheeks, only to be stopped by the metal restraints holding him in place. He couldn't scream, the Mavericks had seen to that, but he wanted to. God, how he wanted to. He didn't bother with emotions anymore- all feelings except the pain had left him, and all his thoughts turned to a craving: death. He just wanted this to end, oh, and relieve him of the pain and burning and aching that the Mavericks caused. With each slice of the blade, a matching lugubrious yearning to scream filled the air. Blood rolled down his forehead, and was wiped away from it with a rag. No, they would cause him all this pain, but still had the decency to wipe away a stray drop of blood. When he felt like he couldn't take it anymore, another laceration fell to his back, reminding him cruelly that there was still more to come. Zero sat there in almost total silence, save for the sadistic whirr of the drill and dark laughter of the scientist.

Chapter 15

The outside of the Maverick Base let people know they weren't messing around. The monolithically-scaled wall was adorned with autoturrets that would fire upon anyone not recognized as a Maverick, striking them dead from a kilometer away. X remembered this place from previous raids, and how to bypass the security. There were two simple ways in: Have Sigma wave you in, (That was, of course, impossible for these Reploids,) or 2) Become a Maverick. Sigma was always on the lookout for new followers, and he made it so that anybody with traces of the Maverick would be automatically given entry. Forte examined the second option, and came up with an idea. "X, come here." the god said. "Yeah?" the blue warrior asked.

Instantly, Bass held him down, and plugged the network cable into his neck peripheral, and into his own, too. "Bass, what the-," Then he understood his plan. Forte copied his Maverick Virus, and gave an infinitesimal bit to X. It wasn't enough to actually turn X Maverick, but hopefully it was just right to let him through the gate. Forte did the same to Serenade, and they all walked toward the Base. Now X donned the cape in the hope that he wouldn't be recognized.

As they approached the colossal, wrought-iron gate, a severely mechanized voice ordered, "Halt! Put your hands in the air!" They did so, and a laser dot found its way onto the foreheads of each Hunter. A whirring sound emanated from some unknown point, and grew louder until it stopped about thirty seconds later. "Entry granted. Please proceed." the voice said, much kinder this time. Forte smiled to his comrades as the monstrous door separated and opened. "I told you it'd work…" whispered Forte to X.

Once they were inside, they encountered an eerie silence. Nobody was in sight, nor were any traces anyone had ever been here. On the surface, the place looked as though it was a normal lab, but upon closer inspection, anyone could see the threads of anarchy being weaved into a heavy cloth. On the walls were ragged "∑", etched into the cold metal by some sharp thing, and the floor had marks of protest as something, or even some_one_ was dragged across it… but to where? Did there exist a clandestine lab where they take the retired Mavericks? Or the soon-to-be Mavericks? Is that where they took Zero? _Damn! Where is he?_ Thought Forte, as he ran through a hall, swords drawn and ready to kill at a moment's notice. He was followed by Serenade, and then X in that order; it was the safest way to proceed.

"X, can you tell where he is from your communicator/locator doodad?" asked Forte to X. "Umm… I'm not entirely sure, but…" That vague answer wasn't satisfying to the god. "Yes or no, X." X hastily replied, "No." "Dammit…" exclaimed an aggravated Forte. _Great._ Not only were they scouring a base full of Mavericks (maybe) who wanted them dead, but they had to find Zero the old-fashioned way. And quickly, too. The Hunters ran in formation through the dark hallways, occasionally stopping to search a room that appeared promising.

Along the way, Serenade took the cloak from X and draped it around herself. "I like your smell, Sensei!" was her reason. Forte hadn't even realized that robots could have a scent, save for cooling fluids and anything they bathed in. As a precaution, the god sniffed his forearm, but didn't smell anything out of the ordinary. He sniffed again; this time, he felt something brush against his nose, and with it came memories of Zero… a hair? Yes! A long, golden hair somehow survived the desert winds and was curled around Forte's hand. He plucked his find from its resting place, and displayed it to his fellow Hunters.

"I found Zero's hair!" Forte said delightedly. X raised an eyebrow. "…his _hair_?" His eyes rolled. "What good will that do us?" Forte practically pounced on the skeptical gunslinger. "Smell it!" X fell to the ground, with Bass on top of him. "Catch his scent! Maybe we could follow it until we found him, or it would lead the way!" said a very excited and hopeful Forte. Serenade helped X back to his feet. The azure Reploid thought to himself for a moment, and said, "I guess that could work! Is there enough scent on it for all of us?" Forte inhaled strongly on the hair, ignoring X's request. "Here." he handed the hair to X, who also smelled it.

After Serenade had gained her portion of the scent, they literally 'followed their noses' to where Zero was, or had been. The aroma led them back where they had come from, and down the dark hallway where the scratch marks were. "Oh no…" said X, realizing how grim Zero's chances had gotten. They gazed down the foreboding path; their hopes being trampled by the mere presence of those ominous scratches. They proceeded slowly onward to the end of the hall, ever so cautiously; as they knew whatever could take Zero could certainly end them.

Chapter 16

The timid group finally reached the end of the hall, and saw an oversized, demonic-looking door blocking their course. Upon its coarse, unpolished surface laid various bolts and locks, serving both the purpose of distilling fear in all who witnessed them, and essentially holding the gate shut. It was definitely serving function number one, because the Hunters felt as though they couldn't open it without losing their souls. As a precaution, however so foolish, Forte wrapped his cloak around his hand before he tried the handle.

"Umm, Bass? I really don't think that's gonna work…" nagged X. Forte was deaf to his words, and hesitantly placed his hand on the handle. Relieved that nothing jumped out and exploded, the wary god advanced in pulling the handle down, and finally, after a moment's pause, pushed the door open. The locks jangled as the cruel-looking door swung agonizingly measurably until it reached its stopping point. Bass gasped in awe at what lay just within the borders of the room.

It was a lab. A very demonic, sadistic-looking lab, complete with stained workbenches and tables. Attached to the wall was a huge metal bin with unused metallic limbs sticking out this way and that. In conclusion, it appeared to be a parts salvaging lab, for in the corner was a metal oven, built for the purpose of recycling scrapped metal and reusing it for other things. Bass stepped into the room, and found his foot was wet. He lifted it out of the puddle and wiped off the substance with his finger, and then looked at it. It was a dark crimson in the poor light of the room; still fresh, but not new.

"Umm… X? You should… You should really see this." But X was already at his back, examining the liquid. "It's blood alright. But whose?" Serenade joined them in the twisted lab. She began saying something, but never finished. Forte turned to witness what had silenced her, and froze too. There was Zero, hanging by rusted hooks from the ceiling. They stuck through his forearms, and one foot, and even a part of his chest. Bass noticed he was missing a few fingers. There was a heavy wire connected to the nape of his neck, which was hooked up to the nearest computer. Other wires protruded from his neck to end in frayed, broken ends, with bits of the inside of them showing. His light blond hair fell around his shoulders, stained with his own blood that was still dripping from his skull. Finally, as though placed there as a sign of dominion or victory, a handprint-sized "∑" was engraved into his chest. No one in the group could turn from the horrific sight.

"Oh my God! Zero!!" X screamed. Serenade ran up to him, hands to her chin in absolute dread. Forte turned away; his stomach churning. He fell to his knees. The god was an enigma of emotions. Pain, sadness, fear, anger… _Dammit… Dammit!!_He thought. Amidst his ocean of emotions, one thought lingered. One, lone, notion: Kill Sigma. But his anger stage passed, followed by misery. A tear rolled down his cheek, and into the puddle of his only brother's blood he was staring into. Suddenly, the mourning god heard Serenade scream. He stood and turned to face the clatter.

Zero had come alive, and was holding Serenade by her side and neck. The chains on the ceiling rattled when the frightened Reploid shook, filling the room with dark music. "Serenade! Zero!" the god yelled. X was too shocked to move. Suddenly, Zero screamed, in pain or pure terror; nobody knows. He shouted, "No! Stay away!", and tried to dodge an intangible blow. Was it shellshock or something worse? The situation was growing out of hand. X stepped closer to the maverick Zero. "Zero! It's me, X! Calm down! We'll get you out of here, alright?!" Zero's partner yelled. But Zero was deaf and blind to all. "I said get away! I'll shoot!" he yelled to invisible captors.

Bass realized how dire the condition had gotten, and ran forward. Time seemed to melt and slow to an insanely slow rate, and all sounds were vanquished. Zero pulled the chain his arm was attached to, and yanked the base right out of the plaster ceiling, sending eddies of dust swirling in retarded motion. Now, with more free room in which to maneuver his arm, Zero, with his almost-fingerless hand, pulled back the hook, and sent it forward at an alarming rate, throwing the heavy, rusted, almost clublike base toward his captive. "Noooooo!!!!" Bass yelled, his voice turning into a frantic, but futilely silent, cry against destiny. X, complete with his Hunter training, thought he knew what to do. Thought.

Chapter 17

Simultaneously, X's buster charged and rose toward the Maverick Zero. It took an eternity to charge, but once it was done and level to his face, X closed one eye, and aimed at his fellow Hunter. A tear fell from his eye, knowing what it was meant to do. Zero's weapon still accelerated toward his detainee, and X took his shot. As the ball of plasma neared its target, as Forte neared his one and only aficionada, and as Zero's attack neared ending Serenade's life, time slowed even more. But even in its slowed state, Forte only had time for one thought. _Serenade, I love-_

However, even in its slowed state, cruel Time was still in control, and didn't change the way things were meant to be.

X had missed his target. For the first time in his entire life, X had missed his target. And the punishment? One dead Reploid. A Maverick Hunter.

Forte screamed in agony as Serenade's still warm, but lifeless body felt to the stony floor. Zero broke through his bonds and also fell to the floor. He got to his feet as best as he could, and quickly staggered out, ignoring the pain. Forte ran and slid onto Serenade. Time was speeding up, and Forte screamed an unintelligible yell of pain and grief. "Dammit!!!! No! Why is this happening? She wasn't in this war!! She didn't deserve to die!!!"

Now the god thrust himself upward to his feet. Tears were now streaming uncontrollably from his eyes, and dripping onto the student that was once his. The brokenhearted god realized Serenade's murderer, and picked a course of action. He turned and stepped intently towards X, a straightforward, iron barrier in his eyes. His determination was as stone.

X stood there in horror as Forte neared him; he knew what was to become of him now. "Bass, listen….! It was an accident!" he pleaded, but Forte was deaf to all. His blades appeared, and his pace quickened. "Hey, calm down! We can talk about this!!" X yelled, trying to get the mad god's attention, but it was to no avail. He yelled an evil war cry, and leaped at his former friend. X cowered, and prayed. Bass flew, slicing through the air with his fully-extended blades, entirely aimed to kill the one who ended his only lover's life. As he neared his foe, Forte felt a sudden shock jolt through his mind, and his arm went no further.

X curiously peered from behind his hands to see why he wasn't dead yet, and uncovered his face. Forte just stood there, frozen in time, like he had been consumed by a glacier. X stood, and then moved away from the target area. Suddenly, Bass resumed his attack, only to find his quarry had dodged his attack. "What the hell?!" the god swore, and tried to hit X again. He was halted by the unseen force once more, and the attack missed its mark. "Dammit!" the god swore yet again. Then he recalled a situation in which he might have been given the failsafe: When he was being repaired against his will by Dr. Cain.

"Damn you, Cain!!" he yelled, and then retracted his swords. He glared at X; it was the kind of glare you would see in a revenge movie, where it strikes fear into the heart of the receiving end of the look; or the deadly gaze you would give to the eyes of the murderer who killed your family before your eyes, and then laughed. In short, it was a look of, "I'm going to kill you for what you did to her, and it will be very prolonged and painful." Bass had mastered this stare, and executed it perfectly.

Perceiving how he couldn't harm X, he reluctantly wandered over to Serenade's body, lifted her up, and exited the lab, staggering in all directions. X followed him to the door, but stayed just within the border; the cool, almost-twilight leer of the sun upon his brow. He watched Forte walk into the sunset, with the female he had developed feelings for, out into the desert horizon. X was crushed. A sudden twinge of nausea swept over him like water on a seashell. He slumped down the wall and sat, still staring at the small patch of flooring immediately in front of him. His large hands cradled his head, but fell to his sides after some time. He'd killed someone. A friend. One he had spoken to just earlier that arduous, agonizing day.

He disappeared into the back of his mind, where he could be alone with his thoughts. He stayed there until the lingering sun was swept beyond the barren hillside, causing the lands to be consumed by darkness. No Mavericks came, which surprised X, but still he stayed, contemplating his next move. The pale moon rose high into the sky, and the Reploid shivered from the cold. Then, he remembered himself, and rose to his feet. He turned and faced the direction where Forte disappeared to, and began running. He ran until the Maverick base was out of his sight, and he found the place where he had stored the Mech.

Chapter 18

Those massive boulders remained where they had been for centuries; untouched by the harsh desert wind and storms. However, despite their longevity, a force far greater than nature had assailed these rocks. The hulking, behemoth-like stones were now scarred, not by the winds; nor the rain, but by a vengeful god, stricken with great misfortune and ache. And what better to take out his anger on than these worthless stones? They'd been here long enough; the god felt they had their share of time on Earth, and wanted to be freed from it. Or maybe he didn't think about their fate at all. Perhaps he was too drawn by his anger to plan ahead, and simply unleashed his vehement force upon them out of spite.

X neared the Mech, and bore witness to something horrible. The giant craft lay on its side, (or what must have been it), decimated into small scraps, useful for naught. As X was surveying the wreckage, something caught his eye. On the ground, in a huge circle, lay this mark "Ø" and the jagged words scrawled under it, "She didn't have to die." The blue Reploid felt another pang of nausea as he recalled once again what happened, and whose blood stained his hands. But still, he solemnly marched on to the Hunter Base, intent on finding the others.

Forte brushed the excess dirt from his palms. It fell onto the mound of soil in small clumps with a light thud. The emotionless god gazed seriously upon his work, and searched around for the finishing touch, the sacred object that would finish his morbid masterpiece. About half a mile away, the god located a medium-sized boulder; tall, robust, and the same stony gray as cold metal. _This will do nicely_, he thought to himself. He crouched behind it and focused all of his weight onto the higher section. It rolled slightly, not enough to get it going fast, but it was more than adequate for the god. Now, he grasped it by the lowermost part and, with a huge heave, lifted it into the air. His legs wobbled and his body shivered, but in spite of his missteps, he began advancing back to Serenade's grave, staggering and gasping.

He was running at full speed. Fleeing. That much was certain. His bloodied legs moved quickly; not by his mind's command, but rather by some unknown, primordial instinct, held fast in his mind throughout the years. His chest burned with a feeling that could only be described as a flame, or intense burning. Why? Oh, that's right… His chest was assailed with the excess remains of a fully-charged plasma shot. Wait…When was he hit?! His hand instinctively flew to the spot on his chest where the flaming ball struck, and he felt the uneven and dull texture of melted metal. It quickly returned to the industrious rhythm of sprinting, waving forward and back, forward and back.

An unexpected stone caught Zero's foot, and within seconds, he was cast through the air. His moment of airborne glory ended abruptly when the Hunter plunged headfirst onto the solid ground. His spectacular landing filled his aching body with an electric stinging that brought tears to his eyes. He unleashed an extremely painful-sounding screech, and rolled onto his side, gasping and panting. The wound on his foot reopened, sending a shock through the crimson swordsman's leg. _I can't stop now…_ he thought frantically. _They'll find me!! _Zero never wanted to feel that kind of pain ever again. Ignoring the pain his foot gave him, he got back to his feet and, after treacherously regaining his balance, continued racing into the night.

Chapter 19

After a few hours of nonstop running, Zero approached an abandoned warehouse. The cool light of the moon revealed an ancient chimney pipe jutting from the roof. There hung an old, rusted steel door across the halfway open entrance; foreboding, but curious. Something in his subconscious mind clicked as though remembering something, but his active mind hastily brushed the thought away. Zero regained a little sanity after seeing this place. He walked inside to discover the remnants of an ancient laboratory, or even a mechanic's storeroom. There lay various tools on long, metallic worktables, and an assortment of wrenches hung from a pegboard fastened to the wall. Zero stepped over some thick cables and walked toward another, slightly smaller door, which was poorly lit by glowing wires.

In this room he found more tools, and decided to utilize them to their full potential. _Let's see if these can do the job…_ he thought. He sat on the bench and ran some diagnostics on his injured parts. A minute later, he gained the knowledge of what needed to be done in order to repair his wounded body. He scoured the room, searching for the torch that would fuse his armor with the new components in the lab, thus patching any holes or lacerations. After a while of digging through the scrap heaps strewn about the room, he uncovered a box containing the biometal that was similar to his own. The hurt Reploid picked up a small piece of metal and bit his teeth down on it, much like a dog holding a prize bone. He grabbed a steel alloy bar in one hand, and with the other, ignited the now-glowing tip of the blowtorch. He melted the end of the steel above his wound on his leg, and watched in slow, foreboding agony as the orange liquid dripped ever so leisurely to the point of injury. As it made contact, a muffled scream escaped the lips of the Hunter, ending the silence of the early night.

Chapter 20

Forte gazed up at his rocky masterpiece. The giant cross cast an uneven shadow on the padded mound of soil that covered his one love's tranquil body. Looking back at it all, the god realized he'd never felt this feeling toward anyone before. The threatening twinge of a tear came from Forte's eye. He collapsed backwards, landing on the hard ground with many watery lines running down his face. He stared deeply into the faded blue sky with his eyebrows furrowed in sadness. A medium-sized cloud passed, shifting and changing as it went, like steam rising and swirling. When it reached the other end of the sky, there was no notion that it was still the same cloud as it was earlier. _Just like how humans change…_ The melancholy god's hand felt their way behind his head, and there they stayed, like a pillow for his heavy head. Unknowingly, the resting god's eyelids drooped, further and further, until at last he lost consciousness.

"Are you okay, kid?" Forte's eyes opened ever so slightly, but he was still mostly asleep. "Mmmph…" he mumbled. The shadow uncovered his half-closed eyes, accompanied by the sound of light footsteps walking away from his unmoving form. "Well, he's alive," a female-sounding voice said. "Yeah, but why's he here?" a male voice replied. Forte sniffed the air. The travelers smelled human. But still Forte was confused, and with good reason. He jerked upright; his blades extending instantaneously. "Who are you?!" he yelled. Then he remembered his eyes were still closed, so he quickly got to his feet and opened them. What he saw was a small caravan, covered in dark green forest camouflage. In front of the large trucks were two people; one female and the other male. They were, too, clothed in jade and black. Uniforms, perhaps?

"Whoa there, kid… We're not gonna hurt you, okay?" the male said comfortingly, slowly inching closer with his hands out in front of his chest. "Heh. Like I haven't heard that before…"Forte said. He put his blades away, and stepped closer to the male. "Who are you and what the hell are you doing out here?" he asked warningly. "Well, our base was destroyed by Mavericks, so we're on the road until we find shelter. Now, what're _you_ doing out here in the sand?" Bass hastily replied: "None of your business…" Forte walked over to the rock upon which his cloak hung and put it on. "I'll just be going now. Goodbye." He began walking in a random direction, away from the convoy. "Hey, wait!" Forte stopped walking, and turned back. "What now?" he asked. "Wherever you're going, it'd be faster if you traveled with us. Whaddaya say?" The god coughed, and replied, "No. Go away." He turned and continued walking, leaving the convoy in the dust. A while later, the god heard the main truck's engine spring to life, followed by the roar of the entire line starting up. He ignored it and continued walking away.

About an hour later, Forte noticed that, despite the fact he'd been walking away from the caravan, the engine's sound never faded, no matter how far he'd gone. He turned to see the main truck directly behind him, following closely. He stopped, and so did the motor vehicle. "Why are you following me?" he yelled to the driver. There was no answer, but Forte knew what they wanted of him. "I'm not going to join you, so leave me alone." He continued walking, but stopped once more and sighed. "Fine…" he shouted, and jumped onto the hood. From there he climbed onto the roof, and the truck accelerated into the moonlit night. Soon after, a small hatch opened, and the girl poked her head out. "Don't you wanna come inside?" she asked caringly. "You might fall off and be lost if you stay up here." Forte shrugged. "I like the view." But she didn't leave. "Come on. Let me show you around." Forte complied, but remained silent.

Chapter 21

The inside of the truck was a little crowded with crates and beds scattered about the cabin. Forte actually paid attention to his guide, however so minimally, and found that she was indeed pretty for a human. Her eyes were rounded the same as Serenade's, but a different color entirely. And, she had bright orange hair instead of that captivating lavender. Interrupting his thoughts, she said, "Okay, um, here's the main room, where we store our supplies and extra stuff." Next, they entered a lab-looking room. "…And this is our lab. By the way, do you need any tests run? Cerveau should be back any moment." Forte quickly shook his head. He's had far too many odd happenings with scientists. Forte looked to his guide. "Just what exactly are you implying I do?" His guide made a surprised expression, but just then, the scientist entered the room.

"Hey, Neige, I- oh? Who's that?" he asked, all his attention turning to Forte. He was tall, and donned in a green and black trench-like lab coat. The top portion of his face was covered by some sort of visor, with an antenna jutting out of the side, just like Dynamo. "Well, come on, don't be shy… What's your name?" he kindly asked. "Forte." he replied grimly and hesitantly. "Forte… now where have I heard that before…? Wait, have we met?" Bass was unsettled at this sudden inquiry. _Now that I think about it_… he soliloquized. _I have seen him somewhere!_ Now Forte had an idea. "Take off your visor." he commanded at sword's length to the scientist. "Hey! No need for violence, now… Alright? Put your sword down." Forte didn't put his sword down. "Show me your eyes." he repeated sternly. Cerveau reached up slowly and deactivated the power, then pulled it out of his grey hair. What Forte saw was definitely the man whom he knew all those years ago. Those same, amber eyes that pulsed with life; the thin eyebrows above them… Even the same small, V-shaped scar showed through the mass of unkempt hair of the scientist that Forte was resurrected by.

"It's you!" Forte yelled excitedly. "From all those years in the past!" The scientist made a surprised gesture. "What are you talking about?" Cerveau inquired. "Don't you remember?" Forte almost shouted to him. "I was that robot you rescued in that…Damn!" The god thought for a moment, remembering where he was once hidden and rescued from. "…that nuclear plant! The one that you repaired!" The scientist held his chin in a pose which meant concentration. Then, his eyebrows shot toward the sky in remembrance. "Oh! You were that old broken… Wow, you've changed. Are those… scars? " Forte looked down at his mass which was, indeed, laced with faint lines and marks much more so than twenty years ago. "I've gotten into a lot of fights…" Forte guiltily admitted. "But hey, I learned how to completely repair myself then!" he added, brightening the conversation. Neige slowly crept closer and closer to the door, trying to avoid questioning and leave the doctor and former patient to their reminiscing. "So, Forte… What's become of you? And why are you way out here?" he asked. Forte told the scientist of his travels, his love, his hate, and his friends.

Chapter 22

"Wow, that's quite a tale! But tell me… Who was your creator? He must have been amazingly deft in engineering, building you and all." the scientist exclaimed. Forte laughed. "You mean daft. That old fool only made me because of an accident. He discovered Fortinum, a, _blindingly_ amazing metal and I was created. Ha, he couldn't have even _attempted_ to build me without his remarkable breakthrough. He was an incompetent, senile old fool." Cain laughed warmly, and replied, "You know, they say you're supposed to respect your creator… Guess that doesn't apply to you, huh?" Forte shook his head in an extremely visibly obnoxious way. "But… It's strange…" The doctor looked up. "What?" Forte slumped into a nearby chair. "I can't really remember his death. Like, all I know is- He- …Well, I just don't know anything now… Hell, I don't even know my own purpose!" Forte's hand shot to his left temple. "Ugh… I have a headache…" Cerveau walked over to the frustrated automaton and said, "Hey, calm down. Nobody knows their purpose. You're just like anyone else." Forte looked at him awkwardly. "It's just not easy being the last of your kind…" he said sullenly. _Last of your kind…_ Cerveau thought.

Suddenly, a tiny invisible light bulb appeared and lit up directly above Cerveau's head. The muscles in his face tightened as though he formulated an ingenious notion. He asked the miserable god, "Your database records and stores things in a similar manner to a Reploid's, correct?" Forte's gloom drifted away like sand in a storm. "Just what exactly are you plotting…?" he asked warily. Cerveau smiled devilishly, and answered, "Well, I was just getting to how…" "…you could search my database for the missing data?" Bass quickly finished, a strong smile of, "Ha! I outthought you!" plastered to his face. The cheery scientist laughed warmly. "Oh, Forte… You're a wonder to mankind, you realize." Forte rose out of the hard metal chair and paced towards the elevated worktable. He laid in it, and admitted sheepishly, "You know, Cerv… I think you're the only human I can trust." Cerveau stopped gathering his tools and replied: "You have no idea how proud that makes me…" Forte stretched out and then relaxed. "Do your stuff, Doc." he casually said. Then the god powered down and became limp. _Hmm…_ Cerveau thought to himself. _Would he mind if I repaired him while he's out?_ Cerveau gazed at his unmoving body and sighed. "I wonder why you are the way you are, Forte…" he pondered aloud. He continued assembling his instruments and strode toward the sleeping robot.

Chapter 23

The next morning, about two hundred miles away, X was awakened by a sharp wind whipping sand across his face. Despite being buried four feet in the soil, the harsh desert storm still reached down in the depths of his makeshift cavern. His hand instinctively flew to his cheek, and his sensors indicated a wet, stinging wound. He gazed in horror at his hand, which was now stained with blood and dripping. The abrasive wind let down its cruel hand into X's hideout, cutting away at the surprised Hunter. _Oh, this isn't good! _He thought as the tempest roared above his head.

Suddenly, X heard a roaring sounding over the monstrous gale. It was mechanical, X decided, for nothing natural could withstand such a maelstrom. It grew much louder and in time, halted its route perpendicular to the wind and the hideaway. Its presence caused the wind to cease, but onward it thundered, angered at its loss of prey. X ever so cautiously peered out of his hole, and saw a massive tank in front of him. A hatch opened, and a tall figure donned in a light brown cloak emerged. "Forte?!" X excitedly yelled. The form stopped, and reached to his belt. Forte was not happy with X. The azure gunslinger realized his mistake, and started charging his buster. However, totally unexpectedly, the cloak was flung off of the figure, and who could it be?

Dynamo smiled and walked forward to his downed comrade. "You alright, X? It's been forever!" he said, extending a hand to the Reploid. X grabbed it, and was pulled over the edge. "Dynamo? How'd you get here?" he asked. Dynamo lifted X off the ground, and continued walking back to his vehicle. "I'll explain inside. It's good to see you again, X!" he said. X smiled, and relaxed as he was carried into Dynamo's unit transporter.

As they entered, the heavy metal hatch closed and locked behind them, shutting off all sounds of the tempest raging outside. Dynamo set X in a chair and also fell onto an oversized stool. The hulking commander called to one of his soldiers to bring some healing supplies, and hurry with it. "So… What are you doing out here in this weather? It's awfully risky for your unit." Dynamo slouched, and grinned. (Of course…) Then, one member of the unit stepped into the room carrying some water, a rag, and a tool kit. He stepped over to X and began washing his wound. X grimaced as the mineral-enhanced water flowed over the abrasion caused by the sand grain zipping across his cheek. Dynamo replied, "Well, my team was off near Abel City scouting out for Mavericks, but then we intercepted a distress signal coming from the Maverick Base. Knowing this was an opportunity too good to miss, we started searching over here for it. Then, the Base called, saying that Zero was missing. With my amazingly clever mind, I figured out that Zero was probably at the distressed Mavy Base, so we came here to scope it out. But then this storm blocked our path, and I thought I felt another presence outside, and here we are now. Would you care for a cup of tea?"

X wondered how his unit could put up with their eccentric leader. Dynamo cleared his throat, and asked, "My turn. Now, what were you doing in a hole in the ground with a sandstorm raging ahead?" X made a face of remembering pain and sadness. "Uh, well…" Dynamo's face turned serious. He motioned for X's nurse to leave. The lowly Hunter made a face like he was tired of being bossed around. "Is it bad…?" the commander cautiously asked. "…Like you couldn't imagine." X solemnly replied. "Oh… Well, I'll just not ask then. So… On a lighter note, I found my wallet! It was under the couch. Who knew?" X took small delight in Dynamo's wacky shenanigans, but they still couldn't erase what he had done, or who was dead. Dynamo warily made small talk with the bothered Hunter as they advanced to their temporary Hunter Base near Abel City.

Chapter 24

Forte twitched, and then sprung up right out of the pod he was lying in. A very tired-looking Cerveau jumped in surprise. "He-," he yelled, but then the god's memories returned, and he relaxed. Forte awkwardly stepped out of the pod and made his way across to Cerveau, and then sat on the table. He nervously peered at the ceiling, pointing out every detail silently to himself. "So… What's… new?" he said to Cerveau, utterly failing at small conversation. The weary scientist smiled, and asked, "How do you feel?" Forte ran a diagnostic scan, and replied, "Better than yesterday. So how long was I out?" Cerveau yawned and said, "Ten days." The god's mouth hit the floor. "Ten days?! I was out of commission for ten days?! Why the hell did it take you so long?!" Cerveau stood and paced to a cabinet, which he quickly opened and retrieved some papers from. He paced back to Forte's resting place and thrust the pages before him.

On the papers were Forte's schematics, and the problem areas were highlighted in red. Almost his entire form was spotted in that cold crimson; you could almost name every war the god had ever been in from these sheets. "Oh…" the repaired god exclaimed. "Yeah." The scientist said, as though he had fully explained the duration of the procedure. "So, I think I removed all of your scars, and you won't be coughing up blood anymore." Bass stared at the scientist like a lone puppy. "…no scars?" he gloomily said. "How am I gonna be a badass without any scars?" Cerveau laughed. "You can't be serious." "But I am! Those scars showed my epic longevity, and my ability to retaliate against attack! What am I to do now?" Then, Forte's eyes brightened, and he popped one sword out. "Forte, no… You are not doing that in here. Are you insane?" The god simply smiled; a creeping, devilish smirk. The weary scientist heaved a great sigh, and admitted, "I think I missed something while I was repairing you…" Forte smiled and put his sword back. "Ah, I'll certainly get more. Playing with Zero is always… rewarding."

Cerveau arced up. "Zero?! You got to fight the Maverick Hunter Zero?! That's amazing! What's he like?" A very surprised Forte hopped off of the table. "Jeez! Calm down, will you? You sound like a fanboy!" The scientist looked depressed, but still eager to learn. "Well, it's just that Zero is the most pronounced Maverick Hunter in the world, and not many people get to meet him. So, is he as strong as they say he is?" Forte closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head and stretched. "I wouldn't know what people say about him, but I can totally kick his ass. He's so righteous, you know? That's his weakness: Always trading power for morals…" Cerveau thought for a moment. "Don't you have any morals?" he asked. This caught Forte by surprise. "What do you mean?" he hesitantly asked. "You're standing on a building. On one side are a mother and child. On the other is your rival, half dead. The building collapses and you only have time for one action. Do you save the innocents, or fulfill your own needs and destroy your foe?" Forte sighed, hesitating, and said, "I'm not human. It's perfectly fine for me not to have morals." "You're avoiding my question." Bass replied: "Well, how about this: Say my rival is human. Do I kill him, and automatically forfeit my life, as is the code of the Three Laws of Robotics? Or do I leave him to die to save an ungrateful couple? Humans don't care for Reploids. The mother would want to be saved by her prince charming, not some industrialized weapon of chaos. So which is it for me?" Cerveau was out of words. "…Forte-," "No! I know what I'm saying. Think about it. Maybe my rival was wishing for death? Would that have justified murder? Or the mother, even! Would she have wanted her child to live in a world of Reploids? If I let my opponent live, he might be the one to slay her and her child. Would that violate the Three Laws if I saved her now, just so she could die later from the one I could have finished off years ago!?"

Cerveau was dumbstruck. "Forte, you need to calm down. Maybe you could-," Forte just abruptly stood and walked out. Cerveau was still staring at the door a minute later, when the computer beeped. He glanced over, and read what it said. It was the complete chronological order of Forte's thoughts and memories. Eyes shining, he read from the beginning about the various logins of his creator and the thoughts of the God of Destruction.

End of Part II…


End file.
